New Lessons
by Timesparrow
Summary: Rupert Giles, better known as "Ripper" to his friends, starts his path of learning the ropes from Ethan about dark magicks, and just what he's getting himself into. Or rather, the trouble he's going to find himself in.
1. Hotwire

The Oxford, watcher bound, youngest son of the Giles' was no more. He had changed. Transformed. _Reformed. _And there was no better feeling.

"For Christ sakes Ripper I thought you said you were quick." Ethan growled. It had been ten minutes since his friend had begun hotwiring the car, after having been promised it would be done in less than five.

"And you didn't tell me you were such a git." Ripper shot back. His concentration on twisting the wires under the car was lost for a moment when Ethan shoved his boot against his exposed leg.

"Piss off," Ripper kicked his foot out blindly in a hope to catch him but was only met with a stifled laugh from Ethan who had backed up ahead of time. Of all the things mess up with Ethan Rayne, the one thing he wished he could change about him was his level of patience. The man was like a child when it came to waiting, and quite frankly, it was annoying.

"Alright, give it a jump then." Ripper said as he crawled out from beneath the 1975 Austin 1800. It was dingy and painted an offense color of orange. While somewhat popular, he had no likes for the design.

"It better work." Ethan mumbled to him after he gave him a hand up, circling around to slip into the driver's seat.

"It'll run, trust me." Ripper said as he slid into the passenger's side. He wiped his grease ridden hands off on his jeans before handing the keys over to Ethan. _At least, I think it will. _Ethan jabbed the keys into the ignition, pressed down the gas, and let the engine rev several times. A smile grew across his face when the engine stayed on, signaling that the hotwiring had been a success.

"Good boy." Ethan told him with the grin still on his face. Ripper scoffed in reply, pulling out a pack of cigarettes from his back pocket. Now it was time for the real fun. With a car they could go anywhere they wanted, do whatever they pleased and forget about whatever problems plagued their minds. It felt good to be this rebellious. It was a rush he couldn't seem to get high enough from, there was so much power in letting everything go and just living. Ethan had shown him a different world that he never before knew existed, and it was fascinating.

Ripper sparked his lighter and brought the flame to the cigarette that was being held between his teeth. Just before it caught Ethan slammed his foot down on the gas, causing the car to jerk forward.  
"Damn it, Ethan." Ripper cursed his friend's lack of awareness. The cigarette remained, but the lighter had fallen somewhere along the floor of the smirked in clear amusement of the situation. The boy still had much to learn, and now was going to be a good start. Ethan liked keeping things interesting and surprising, so whenever possible he liked to give things a little 'spark' so to speak. Tonight he figured would be Ripper's first lesson in creating a little chaos, a lesson that involved using his favorite sort of dark magick, transmogrification.

A tense sort of silence fell between the two as Ethan drove down the narrow, darkened streets. Not too many people were out at this time of night, which made it the perfect time for bad deeds and drinking, lots of drinking. But first they had a job to do.

Ripper was still tense about how his lighter was rattling underneath the driver's seat, mostly because he knew he couldn't get to it at the moment. Instead he lounged back into the leather of the car and tried to keep his face free from showing agitation. Whatever they had planned tonight he was sure Ethan had some idea of what he was doing. The man was skilled in the dark magicks, and now he too was beginning to learn what it was like to wield a supernatural force. It was better than being a sitting duck at Oxford, just 'waiting' to become some watcher. No, he was sure this was exactly where he was suppose to be.

"I hope you're not scheming anything over there, you look rather troubled about it." Ethan cheekily pointed out the furrowed expression Ripper had been trying to conceal. Before Ripper had a chance to respond they pulled up along side what looked like an empty warehouse. However voices could be heard from the inside, loud voices. People were shouting, or was it...screaming?

"Now, do try and pay attention."


	2. Joining the gang

With Ethan it was never clear if what you were doing was going to be safe. Not that it really mattered, since Ripper was all about seeking out the danger that lurked in the blackened street corners of London. But sometimes there was just that feeling inside that makes you want to turn back.

Ethan stepped out the car, giving the keys in his hand a spin around his finger. "Oh Ripper we're gonna' have fun tonight." He spoke with a pompous sort of air to his words, like he owned his own fate and everything that was ever going to happen. It was admirable, or maybe just bloody stupid. Either way, Ripper had no choice but to follow his friend. Before he got out the car he reached his arm across the floor and grabbed the lighter that had conveniently slid out from under the seat when they had stopped.

"If you say so..." Ripper grumbled, finally getting his cigarette lit. He was calmer than usual tonight, with no real reason to be. Usually he'd be racing with excitement and just raging to bash something in or at least dip a little into the magicks by now. Instead the young Brit was toned-down and rather level headed for the time being.

Ripper glanced over the warehouse that Ethan had pulled up along side, noticing the taped over windows and overall shabbiness of the whole exterior. He was painfully drawn to it, and frightened at the same time. It reminded him of the first time he encountered Ethan in the school yard.

"What the 'ell are we doing here Ethan, this place is abandoned." Ripper mumbled through his cigarette, following after Ethan as he went towards the front of the ravaged building.

"There are a few mates of mine that are eager to meet you."

"How thoughtful."

"You'll want to mind yourself here Ripper, this a whole new level of dark magick you're about to deal with here." Ethan cautioned, beginning to pry open the door, using his shoulder for support.

From what Ripper could see over Ethan's shoulder, the place was just what he expected it to be, deserted. To get a better look he brushed past Ethan and took a few steps further into the warehouse. That's when he saw them. Three men and one woman, all sitting in a circle in the middle of the floor. There was a symbol of sorts drawn beneath them.

"Is he ready?" One of the men asked, looking over at Ripper with a skeptical look. He had an odd looking sort of beard, and dark black hair from what Ripper could see in the dimmed light. The others around the circle seemed to be thinking the same question, as they all turned to look over at their new guest.

Ripper turned silently back towards Ethan and hoped that his friend was going to sound encouraging about the whole situation. Instead he simply gave a large shrug.

He smiled, "Guess we'll have to find out."


	3. A Demon named Eyghon

Author's Note: Now that I've figured out how to include one of these in the beginning: Hello! I'm a rather new member of the wonderful Fanfiction community and would be thankful for any reviews or tips concerning my writing. As always, thanks to anyone who gives their time to read.

Disclaimer: I own nothing, everything belongs to their respected owners and the mighty Joss Whedon.

* * *

Ripper's jaw clenched tightly when the man who had asked the question stood up and began approaching him. He didn't know what this small group of people was capable of but if they had the same skills as Ethan, they were powerful enough to do some real damage. This, he was interested in.

"My name is Philip," The man outstretched his hand. Ripper made an obvious face of discontent, his lip turned up slightly. He had this distaste for shaking hands. Not only did he see it as a waste of time as a formality, but it reminded him too much of how his father tried to raise him up. Always was he to present himself as a proud and posh member of the Giles' family. His mother had always been relatively modest, as he had been, but his father with all the watcher duty and position of power tended to make sure that Rupert knew the shoes he was going to one day fill. But that was all in the past, he was a new man now, free from destiny. . .

"Name's Ripper," He shook the man's hand reluctantly, pulling away immediately and stuffing them into the pockets of his loose jeans.

"Ripper, eh?" Philip raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah well his name was bit rubbish so I gave him a better one." Ethan suddenly interjected. He ran his hand through the back of his hair as he walked toward them, a habit he had seemed to pick up from Ripper. They were more alike than he led himself to believe, and yet at the same time they were so utterly different it was like trying to get along with your worst school mate. It had only been a few weeks since they'd run into each other but since then they had rarely spent their days or nights apart, often spending the afternoons looking for quick ways to make money and then at night familiarizing themselves with the dark magicks. They were mostly just doing it for fun but on the rare occasion they were able to earn a little cash for their tricks.

Philip shrugged his shoulders at Ethan's sudden intervening and went to sit back down in the circle. It seemed that with Ethan and Ripper the magick circle would be complete. As Ripper approached, the rest mumbled their names. To be honest he was barely listening, only catching a 'Thomas' and a 'Randall'. He wasn't particularly interested in them anyways, it was the magick.

Ethan gave a small tug at Ripper's shirt, signaling for him not to join the circle just yet. Ripper turned to face him with curious eyes.

"Look, I'm not sayin' you won't be able to handle this but it's a hell of a ride the first time, and the weaker you are the easier it controls you." Ethan tried to sound as genuine as he could, but the lack of faith in his voice masked any hint of concern.

"I can handle myself, Ethan." Ripper brushed away the hand that clung to his shirt. "Just watch." He had a fierce look in his eyes, certainly a look of defiance he had perfected using against his father. He would show Ethan and his mates just how 'strong' he was. It was no time to back down, to falter or question, to succumb to the chaos within. No, now was the time to demonstrate and show-off, to prove. He took a seat next to Thomas and gave a nod, "c'mon then."

Despite Ripper's little flair of aggression, Ethan couldn't help to form a sly grin. It seemed Ripper was turning out to be every bit of the man he predicted he would be, easy to trick, easy to lead, and hopefully strong enough to wield a little power. They were to be dealing with the demon known as Eygthon, a rather interesting demon who possessed the ability to enter their body and minds. They had even gone as far as to tattoo a mark that would strengthen the connection on their bodies. Ethan vividly recalled several nights where he received visions due to the psychic link.

Ethan silently took his place and the final tip of the symbol,

"Let's begin."


End file.
